India among countries with highest stroke risk
It could cause nearly 10 mn deaths annually by 2050, mostly in low-middle income countries (LMICs), and cost up to $2 tn per year: Report
image for illustrative purpose
Major risk factors of stroke in younger population were identified as high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol, obesity, unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, and smoking. This was coupled with limited surveillance data on stroke risk factors, events, management, and outcomes of stroke
New Delhi: India is among countries in Asia, along with some in Africa, with the highest risk of stroke among the younger population, according to a global burden of stroke report published in the Lancet Neurology journal.
The report showed that stroke could cause nearly 10 million deaths annually by 2050, mostly in low-middle income countries (LMICs), and cost up to $2 trillion per year.
Taking into account population growth and ageing between 2020 and 2050 in high income countries (HICs) and LMICs, the analysis indicates the number of people who die annually from stroke globally will increase by 50 per cent, rising from 6.6 million in 2020 to 9.7 million in 2050.
The number of stroke deaths in LMICs is projected to rise sharply -- widening the gap with HICs -- by increasing from 5.7 million in 2020 to 8.8 million in 2050.
In contrast, stroke deaths in HICs are estimated to remain largely unchanged at around 900,000 between 2020 and 2050. This indicates that the proportion of global stroke deaths that occur in LMICs will increase from 86 per cent in 2020 to 91 per cent in 2050.
“Asia accounted for by far the greatest share of global stroke deaths in 2020 (61 per cent , around 4.1 million deaths) and this is forecast to rise to around 69 per cent by 2050 (around 6.6 million deaths),” said Professor Jeyaraj Pandian, President-Elect of the World Stroke Organization, one of the lead authors of the Lancet Commission.
“Though smaller relative to Asia, the number of annual global stroke deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan African countries will rise from 6 per cent in 2020 (403,000) to 8 per cent (765,000) in 2050.
